Battle of Mino Fields (1546)

The Battle of Mino Fields (1546) was an engagement of the Sengoku Period between the armies of the Oda and Saito clans. Nobuhide Oda, the daimyo of Owari Prefecture, ordered an invasion of Mino Province to stop the Saito clan of the north from invading Owari as the Tokugawa did the year before in 1545. The following battle left the Saito leaders dead and the Saito capital open.

Background
Dosan Saito of the Saito clan was known for his skills at deception and was disrespected by many a warlord across Japan. His clan was weak and the resources of his native Mino Province meagre, but he was known to be an aggressive warlord, and he declared war on the Oda clan of Owari Prefecture to the south. In 1546, he massed an army of 300 troops on the border, under the command of him and Hisatoyo Ijuin. Tsunesuke Akechi was dispatched with 1,080 Oda troops to bring order to Mino Province by deposing the Saito, and his army fought Dosan at Mino Fields.

Battle
The Oda army of 1,080 troops was under the command of Tsunesuke Akechi and the Oda metsuke Kiyokata Takigawa, the appointed administrator of Owari Province while Nobuhide Oda was in Mikawa Province. The Oda faced a smaller Saito force of 300 troops. The Saito deployed on the top of a steep mountain and the Oda deployed on a field; the Oda formed a straight battle line to resist any Saito attack. The Saito charged down the mountain as expected and the Oda lowered their Yari to impale the horsemen and spearmen sent to attack them. Both Saito generals were slain along with several of their soldiers, and the Oda won a decisive victory. 215 Oda and 264 Saito were killed in action, and the Oda moved on Mt. Inaba Castle.